Dissertation
Life after death: spatial, biodiversity, and human use analysis of cemeteries as urban green space in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Aug 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011564
Abstract
By 2050, 68% of the global human population will live in an urban area or city. This means that urban green space becomes an increasingly important resource as cities expand or become more dense. Urban green space has many environmental and human health benefits including mitigating impacts from urban heat island effect, support biodiversity, improved mental health, improved cardiovascular health, and decreased infant mortality rates. Within urban landscapes, cemeteries are often overlooked as green spaces, and although are burial grounds, often serve multifunctional purposes. Previous research in Europe and Turkey has found cemeteries to both be harbors for biodiversity and spaces for non-burial or non-mourning purposes. The aim of this work is to demonstrate cemeteries as valuable urban green spaces in terms of stable urban green spaces, supporters of biodiversity, and spaces for recreational human activities. Laurel Hill, The Woodlands, and Mount Moriah are historic rural-style cemeteries in Philadelphia that were founded with the intention of being park-like spaces in addition to serving as burial grounds. In the first chapter, I characterized land cover data, and then conducted spatial analyses on urban green space connectivity and concentration in three east coast cities. Philadelphia was found to have less urban green space (33%) compared to Boston (46%) or New York City (39%), but within city comparisons suggested that Philadelphia city-managed parks have a higher proportion of tree canopy (59% in Philadelphia compared to 39% in New York City and 46% in Boston). Philadelphia cemeteries have slightly higher proportion of overall urban green space (93%) compared to cemeteries New York City (89%) and Boston (91%). Rural cemeteries in all cities were found to be within large urban green space patches in the connectivity analysis suggesting their presence as stable urban green spaces within each city. In the second chapter, I used a variety of targeted taxonomic data collection methods to measure biodiversity and evaluate potential ecological function at each study cemetery. Taxonomic surveys were conducted in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, and Summer 2022 and included surveys of birds, arthropods, and vegetation. Malaise traps to collect flying insects were deployed at strategic dates during bird breeding season between June 2021 and September 2021, and May 2022 and September 2022. Although Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index values were found to be low, as expected in urban environments, some temporal and between site trends were identified. As the most abundant family in each sample, Diptera was identified to family-level to assess potential ecological function and a large array of potential ecological functions were identified. In the third chapter, I evaluated human activity and land management styles of cemeteries through various methods. I conducted ethnographic observations and short structured interviews to document what cemetery visitors were doing in the cemetery. I conducted in-depth interviews with cemetery managers to better understand land management techniques and potential impacts on biodiversity. I completed a correlation analysis to examine potential relationships between human activities and biodiversity measurements. Ethnographic observations and short structured interviews with visitors indicate that the majority of people in cemeteries are there for recreational activities, live close to the cemetery they were in, and have no personal connection, and therefore not there for mourning or burial purposes. In-depth interviews with cemetery managers revealed their vast knowledge of their respective cemeteries, as well as, potential techniques and decisions that may be associated with biodiversity. The correlation analysis did not reveal any strong statistical support for relationships between biodiversity and human activities, but that could be due to a variety of factors including cemetery accessibility, nearby neighborhood demographic composition, or potential perceptions of the cemetery. The results across the three studies suggest that the rural-style cemeteries examined in this dissertation are important urban green spaces, can support biodiversity, and act as spaces for recreational activities. Cemeteries should be included when urban planners, policymakers, community members, and other stakeholders are looking to expand or improve urban green space. However, it is important to note that due to the cultural and religious diversity in Philadelphia and beyond that some groups of people will not view cemeteries as potential spots for recreational activities. Therefore, the demographics of communities need to be seriously examined and considered when looking to make urban green space more equitable, accessible, and available where it may not currently be. Though cemeteries are potential urban green spaces, they should not be the only accessible green space in a community.
Metrics
3 File views/ downloads
2 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Life after death
- Creators
- Heather Leigh Kostick
- Contributors
- Dane C. Ward (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University
- Number of pages
- xxvi, 360 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022207845304721